The Gamble
by Meg2
Summary: Follows "Sookie's Revelation" and "From the Beginning". Takes place almost five months later in Bon Temps. Spoilers for all 8 books, Wolfsbane and Mistletoe
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The Sookie Stackhouse Series is the creation of Charlaine Harris. Don't sue me Charlaine! I love your books.

A/N- 1 & 2 have been combined into one document because of upload space limitations.

The Gamble

I.

May 2nd, the night Victor Madden showed up in the bar, was the night my paradigm (word of the day, April 29th) shifted from what it had been. I was not at Fangtasia. I was at work, in Merlotte's.

It was 11:00 pm and I had an hour left on the clock, although the bar closed at 1 am that night. I was still working on a shorter schedule, thanks to my loved one. In at 5pm and out by midnight on my late days. I had no idea how Sam was explaining this to Arlene, Holly and Tanya and that new girl he'd hired at my suggestion. ("nice clean mind, really likes to be useful…") I had originally had secret suspicions that by having me start a half hour late and leave an hour early, Eric thought that Sam would get sick of it and lay me off. He really didn't know Sam. Or me. Besides, if you're not awake in the afternoon, you can't know what time I start work. Some days I actually showed up at 4:30 pm or even earlier if I knew Sam was restocking the bar. My official work hours were all I was paid for, though, and if Sam felt so inclined, he'd spot me lunch or dinner to make up for it. But then again, getting off earlier meant more time at home before dawn.

After Victor walked in, as if by some unspoken agreement between us, Sam left the bar for the "stockroom" and I could tell from a mile away that he was calling Eric on speed dial faster than all get out. Just an update. Just in case.

Victor, who was dressed in his typical perfectly tailored suit, inquired which was my section and then settled himself in a booth, smiling broadly as I approached. Take away the GQ suit and he looked like a curly haired kid, with those sparkling eyes. I had presumed he was here to meet with Bill. I had to say that I hadn't found Victor all that bad to deal with so far, but I wasn't going to chance really digging in there to see if what was rolling around in his head was as bad as I had gathered that night in my house last December. That was the night that Sophie-Anne died and the King of Nevada, Felipe de Castro, took over Louisiana and Arkansas in one fell swoop.

If he was meeting Bill it was odd to do it in such a public place. I was curious about Victor's agenda in coming to Merlotte's but not enough so to be risky about it. Recent experience had led me to believe that any vampire worth his salt was likely to have his or her antenna stirred at least slightly by my searching through the files of their mind. Victor was big game in that respect. He seemed very aware of things around him. I had not seen Victor since Eric and I made a brief trip to Las Vegas to do some business for Felipe at the beginning of April. My work had involved ferreting out information about someone who was skimming Felipe's casino's cash carts for tens of thousands at a time. I'd spent an entire day being chaperoned by Victor on the floor of the casino, pretending to gamble but listening in. I had identified three people involved in the thefts and they were arrested.

"What can I get you tonight, Victor?" I asked as pleasantly as I could.

"Oh, I'll have an AB negative" he replied with a dazzling smile.

"You, know, I'll have to see if we have any left," I said. "We don't get as much request for AB. Is O neg okay if we don't have AB?"

"Well, sure," he responded, though he didn't look too pleased. Mental note to Sam: if Felipe de Castro's lieutenant is in the area, stock some AB.

After dropping off a beer at another table on my way back to him (a point not lost in the least on Victor, as I could tell just from body language) I handed him a warm O neg "with Sam Merlotte's regrets" that we were out of his preferred AB.

"Enjoy," I said with a smile, still trying to be pleasant, and started to move away.

"Well, Sookie, actually I'm here to see you. Can you sit for a few minutes?" Oh, he sounded so cordial and friendly, now didn't he?

I felt like a chilly cloak had just been wrapped around me. What would Victor Madden have to discuss with me directly, I wondered?

"Well, Victor, it's a little awkward. I'm still on the clock and I have customers."

Victor looked nonplussed. Glancing over at the bar, where Sam was trying hard to make it less than obvious that he was following Victor's every move, he made eye contact with Sam as if to tell Sam that he was going to do whatever he wanted. Sam glanced at me and gave me a pleasant faced nod toward the other side of Victor's booth, indicating that, sure, I could sit and "chat".

As I sat down in the booth, I had the feeling that Victor sometimes looked at me like I was one tempting confection. This was not a feeling I enjoyed.

"Well, what brings you to Bon Temps, Victor?" I said, trying to sound chipper, interested, and not freaked out.

"Sookie, I come on behalf of Felipe. He would like to meet with you about a business offer."

My insides lurched. This was a serious breach of vampire protocol. I was, for wont of a better word, Eric Northman's _asset_. Any business for me had to be negotiated through Eric. In late April, for instance, I'd been back to Jackson, with Bill as my bodyguard, doing a quick job for Russell Eddington and his second, Betty Jo. All negotiated first with Eric, even though I had spoken after the initial contact, with Betty Jo, extensively. I knew full well, and Victor _knew_ I knew, that business with an asset of Eric's went through Eric. And I liked it that way. It was much safer that way. Eric knew what I would do and what I would refuse to do. Not only was it the only way that vampire business was conducted, to negotiate directly with a human, who actually belonged to another vampire, was… highly suspect.

"Well, Victor, I… I really don't know what to say. It seems rather… unusual, to say the least. I'll be off work in another hour and Eric should be here." I tried to make it plain, but not in an offensive fashion, that I was not going to play ball.

"I don't want to talk to Eric. Felipe wants me to talk directly to you."

Well, terrific. My blood was running cooler by the minute.

At that precise moment, Bill, trying to look relaxed, but clearly, I could feel, _not_ relaxed, strode into the bar. After a quick chat with Sam, he glanced around as if looking for me, though he knew exactly where I was. He casually walked over to the booth and nodded deferentially to Victor.

He noted the silence at our little get together and said, "I hope I'm not interrupting? Sookie, I was looking for you. I have to confirm with you what specific software you'll need on your laptop for your classes."

Victor simply turned to Bill and dismissively said, "Leave".

I blanched. I placed my hand flat on the table as a peaceful gesture and plea for a moment of Victor's valuable time. In my best Southern belle accent I said,

"If I could just respond to Bill, Victor, I really have to get this laptop thing scoped out asap? I hope you don't mind?" I smiled at him.

Victor regarded me carefully. He had heard things about me, I'm sure. That I was a bit "delicate". Pam had told him skillfully, early on, that I always did my best work when I was handled politely, when I was happy. It helped to portray my "gift" as sort of an "art" in Eric's opinion. Not something that could be forced out of me. He said it was definitely safer for me, for us, to make that point loud and clear. I didn't want anyone thinking that they could go after Eric, or my friends, and get any good work out of me.

With an eye on me, Victor nodded curtly.

Good. Stalling for time…. "Bill, I know I'll need all that Office stuff, but there's this program that's not in it that's for journaling. It's made by the same company. I'll need that for one of the classes. We have to able to sumbit things in that journal form."

Bill nodded thoughtfully as if making mental notes. In fact, since we'd had this entire conversation the day before, he was actually letting me know, in subtext, that he was here to safeguard me until Eric arrived shortly. In the meantime, Bill could let me silently pick his brains on just want the hell was going on. Because of vampires' ability to pick up on each other's thoughts, however, this was no mean trick. Whatever was in there for me, I'd have to grab it on the down low, as they say.

"And we're still on for tomorrow evening for learning how to use everything, okay?" said Bill, with a smile. _"I have no clue as to what to tell you to do here. Stay calm. He's coming."_

Victor was looking rather impatient already. But he didn't appear to be picking up on the whole subtext thing, thank goodness. Bill and I had never really done this 'live' before. We'd only practiced, while Eric tried to detect it.

"Eric said that you thought the textbooks are cheaper from an internet bookstore?" I countered. I was grasping at straws to stall, revisiting real issues, previously discussed. I knew Bill was sensing my acute discomfort but by mentioning Eric I made it plain that I got his message.

"Well, sure. They well could be. We can check that tomorrow, too." He replied. _"And we are playing one dangerous game here, Sookie."_

"Thanks so much, Bill. I really appreciate your help so much." Best to let him get out of here on that account. Even if he couldn't help, and didn't have a clue, I took comfort in the fact that he and Sam were here with me.

I turned my full attention to Victor and smiled as Bill slinked away back to the bar to sit and "chat" with Sam. With the music on, it would be unlikely that he could hear much of our conversation, unfortunately.

"So, Sookie, Felipe would like to meet with you in Las Vegas. The day after tomorrow would be fine. We can have a private jet pick you up at say 2 pm? You will of course be compensated for having to rearrange your schedule on such short notice. No need to plan for formal attire."

I was pretty much stunned. How to respond without causing even more trouble than this looked to be? A departure date and no promised return date on top of it. This was troubling, to say the least.

"I, well, I'd have to discuss this with Eric, Victor."

He looked at me stonily. "This matter doesn't involve Eric. It involves issues in Nevada."

"Well, Victor, I _live_ with Eric. It's not like he's not going to notice that I'm not home. And frankly, I won't travel without him at all."

"Perhaps Mr. Compton can accompany you. That can be arranged. I understand he did when you were recently working for Russell in Jackson."

_Well,_ _damn!_ They were obviously keeping track of my movements, weren't they…

"Victor, that was a single day job, which Russell arranged through Eric, for a specific purpose of which I had prior knowledge and which I was in agreement I could perform. Bill acted as my bodyguard only because Eric could not get away from his work at the time and it was an urgent situation. I am afraid I just think it inappropriate in my situation to leave Eric out of this plan. I won't do that. If Felipe wants to meet with me, it will be with Eric as well. Please convey my sincere apologies to him if he is displeased with my decision in the matter."

And with that little speech, I rose from the table and went to get Hoyt Fortenberry's check tallied.

When I got over to the register, my hands were trembling. Sam and Bill picked up on the fact that I was shaking. Bill obviously couldn't talk to me too much, but Sam came over and appeared to be pointing out something on the check while whispering, "Hang in, he should be here any minute."

As I walked over to hand Hoyt his check, Victor called out in a firm, cold voice,

"Miss Stackhouse, I wasn't done with you."

II.

I turned back toward Victor and was sure that Sam and Bill turned toward him as well after hearing _that_ tone of voice. I was trembling inside. Eric owed Felipe fealty. The issue of whether that meant that Eric owed anything directly to Victor (as Felipe's lieutenant) and whether as Eric's asset I therefore owed anything to Felipe or Victor was still a murky one in my mind. I usually took my cues on vampire protocol from Pam or from Eric. I was therefore in no man's land. I decided to go rogue.

"Mr. Madden, I'll be with you in a minute." I was equally firm and cold but not overtly annoyed.

I proceeded to hand over the check to Hoyt, inquire about Jason, who was his best friend, take his cash, make his change back at the register, return his change and then head off to Kevin and Kenya's table to pick up their plates and ask if they wanted anything else. They asked for dessert and coffee, bless them. I was on my way to get their pie, when of all people, Jason walked in the door. Well, now this was awkward.

Jason and I had spoken seldom since the night I'd been forced to break a number of bones in Calvin Norris's hand because Calvin's niece, Crystal had broken her marriage vows to Jason. He looked disheveled, as if he had thrown on something to get here. Had Eric actually called _Jason_? He was another warm body in the Bon Temps area who had an interest in protecting me, I supposed.

Jason came around the counter, shook Sam's hand and then engulfed me in a bear hug. In spite of everything, it felt good. I missed Jason at times lately and had even verbalized it. We'd only spoken twice since Christmas. He'd called me three weeks ago, saying he'd noticed that I wasn't staying much in Bon Temps lately and wanted to know what was going on. Eric and I were just back from Vegas. I mentioned that I was staying a good fraction of every week in Shreveport with Eric. It was an awkward conversation. He had been none too thrilled to know that I'd gotten involved with another vampire. He'd met Eric when I had cared for Eric a year and a half ago. He kind of liked Eric, but the Eric he knew was the one from the time Eric had not been himself. He had never forgotten how funny he thought it was when Eric had suggested that Jason should be taking better care of his sister. Eric's opinion on Jason had not improved in the least since then, I thought. But here Jason was and damn if I wasn't getting the impression that Eric had indeed called him and told him to haul himself over to Merlotte's to help keep an eye on me. And Jason had actually shown up. Jason didn't have any particular skill set, but he was a bitten were and was physically stronger for it. Jason was also a loose cannon at times. It added to my feeling of tension that he was here, rather than diminishing it. Jason sat down at the table that Hoyt had not yet vacated.

As I delivered pie and coffee to Kevin and Kenya, I could sense Victor following my every move. I held off on giving Kevin the check because it was one more thing I could use to stall for time.

I went back to the bar, heated another O neg and walked back over to Victor.

"This one's on me. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." I did not sit down.

Victor looked at me in a somewhat less friendly manner. Quietly but firmly he said "Sookie I'm afraid I didn't make myself clear. Felipe expects you in Vegas on Wednesday. I would strongly suggest that you be there."

"Well, I'll have to see if Eric can drop everything that fast, Victor."

"Eric is not invited, Sookie. Just you."

"Well, I've already made my position quite clear, Victor. My situation makes that impossible. I'm very sorry if I'm making things difficult for you." I turned to walk away and Victor, snarling, grabbed my wrist so hard that I cried out.

Within an instant, Sam, Bill, Jason, Hoyt and Kevin were approaching me, or should I say, approaching Victor. Kenya had her radio in her hand, ready to call it in. But Sam had a billiards cue stick. I was very afraid things could get out of hand and that Victor was going to be on the sharp end of a stake, with Bill as a witness. That would not be a good situation. A vampire had been staked in this bar for attacking me once before. But he had not been a vampire in a position of such power. I twisted my wrist free. That was going to leave me black and blue, I thought to myself, and Eric would not take it lightly when he saw it. Victor stared at me menacingly, fangs starting to run down. Bill looked about the same way at Victor. Hoyt was just open mouthed. Jason was being restrained by Sam and was running his mouth off.

"Don't you _dare_ lay a hand on my sister…" Thank goodness he didn't add the "you vampire scum" comment that he was thinking.

At that precise moment, Eric strode into the bar. He took in the scene. I tried to hide my wrist at my side, but he cut through the small group of men and pulled me toward him as if he already knew what had happened. He looked from my eyes to my wrist and then at Victor. I tried to start pushing him back, away from Victor's booth with my other hand but he was too fast, and far too strong. It took Bill, Sam, Kevin and Jason, to pull Eric off Victor after I started protesting and pleading with him that he had to stop. Please, please stop. I was so scared he wouldn't. The consequences could have been dire.

Victor didn't look too bad, considering the boiling rage that I felt streaming through Eric. He was bleeding in several places on his head and had an especially nasty bite on his jawline. He grabbed some napkins to keep from bleeding on his beautiful suit. Geeez, Eric was literally going for his throat, I thought to myself with a shiver. Victor looked quite shaken. Eric was half a foot taller than Victor and I'd have estimated at least five hundred years older. In a fight, my money would be on Eric every time. Eric had a nasty wound on his arm that he wouldn't let me touch. He just waved me off.

"What the hell were you doing, Madden?" Eric thundered, while towering over Victor, who was in a corner of the booth.

"I was discussing a private business matter with Sookie and she was being uncooperative."

"And what private business could you possibly have with my wife that would _not _concern me?" He said, glowering over Victor with his arms crossed.

You could have heard the proverbial pin drop.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The Sookie Stackhouse Series is the creation of Charlaine Harris. Don't sue me Charlaine! I love your books.

The Gamble

III.

Everyone in the room, except Eric and me, looked stunned. I felt a big twinge of remorse that I hadn't told Sam.

Victor, Bill, Jason, Sam, Hoyt, Kevin and Kenya all looked at me, then to Eric and then back to me with shocked looks on their faces.

Eric was standing stock still over Victor, waiting for an answer. Victor was now looking as if he was having to reprocess things, recalculate them, and reconsider.

"I'm waiting," hissed Eric, with no small amount of malice in his voice.

Victor moved as if he was going to stand up and get out of being trapped in a corner in his booth. He was healing pretty rapidly, something for which I was grateful, considering Kevin and Kenya were there. I was relieved to get the feeling by looking at them that they were in so much shock over the whole married thing that they really weren't even dealing with the assault thing. I wondered if they could even arrest Eric if I was the only one who was going to be showing evidence of an injury? A lot of the time the police didn't even care about fighting between vamps, I told myself. A vamp hurting a human was a different story.

Victor stood up, stepped back and looked at me and then at Eric. "I did not know of the change in your situation. When did you marry, may I ask?" Victor appeared to have keyed in on my use of the word _situation_ in my flat refusals to go to Vegas without Eric.

"March 29th, though I don't see what business it is of yours," said Eric dryly.

Jason, Sam and Bill now looked at me with utter astonishment. I had been married for more than a month and never said a word. I'd been ambivalent about telling people. I knew a lot of people wouldn't understand and several would be hurt or worried.

We had been married in the Caddo Parish courthouse in one of those ceremonies that you could make by appointment for a vampire wedding, since those could only take place after regular court hours.

I could see that Victor was doubtful. I guess it did seem unlikely that I would be married and my own brother wouldn't know about it. After Jason's reaction to the news that I was spending so much time in Shreveport with Eric, damned if I was going to tell him that, by the way, I'd married the man. I was still angry enough at Jason so that the last thing I wanted was to get into something even more personal with him.

I pressed through the cadre of men who'd come to my aid, took off my wrist watch and showed Victor the thin scar on my left wrist that had been left by Eric's sharp ceremonial knife. It was one of the only wounds I've refused to let Eric heal- the only one since we became a real couple. Then I pulled out the platinum chain around my neck, from which dangled my wedding ring. Victor looked down at my wrist and then just stared at me. I could see he clearly remembered that I'd had a bandage on my wrist and had worn long sleeves when I was in Vegas in early April. Yes, Victor, we are bonded twice over, Eric and I, I thought to myself. Eric held out his left hand, which bore a matching platinum wedding band that never left his hand.

Jason must have looked puzzled about my wrist because Bill told him in a hushed tone that Louisiana law allowed for the marriage ceremony to include a blood bond where the couple exchange, or drink their mixed, blood. Jason felt totally repelled. I could read that a mile away. Even Sam did.

I'd managed a bold strike on Victor in the moments after Eric had been pulled off him. He was slightly disoriented and in those few seconds, I managed to pull out of his thoughts that Felipe had every intention of co-opting me from Eric, in terms of my being _his_ asset, just as Sophie-Anne had for the Rhodes summit. But, unlike Sophie-Anne, he wanted me to be based in Las Vegas and to work for him full time, keeping tabs on things in his casinos. It seems that he thought a large enough salary would make the deal attractive enough to secure me. Keeping Eric's little pet so close to his Court would also give him more of a position of strength over Eric, as an added benefit, assuming our relationship continued. I really didn't like to imagine what Felipe planned if I said no. Somehow, I don't think he'd be ringing up Stan in Texas and asking to borrow Barry.

I was still rather amazed that they wanted to tell me directly rather than inform Eric. They had clearly never considered the possibility that our tie might be more serious, or more _legal_. I had to hand it to Eric. He had been right on the mark. He had been taking an interest in Nevada laws and the gaming industry and had come to see that in spite of the free wheeling appearance of things, legislation was very tightly enforced in Nevada, even more so than Louisiana. Felipe, and any vampire involved in the gaming industry, would be tightly bound by all kinds of legal issues. If he had to get used to abiding by laws to run a mainstream tourist and gaming business, he might be more inclined to respect legal ties or limits of any sort. Taking someone's human asset was one thing. Taking their _wife_ was a wholly different risk, especially in the eyes of the law.

Jason looked at me incredulously and asked "You really _married_ him?"

"Yes, Jason. Yes, I did. I was still too upset with you to tell you."

Since it looked like a more domestic situation now, and under better control, Kevin and Kenya departed, quietly. I think they were quite happy to leave.

Eric and Victor stood silently regarding one another as if neither knew exactly where they would go from here. This was a heady, dangerous moment.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: The Sookie Stackhouse Series is the creation of Charlaine Harris. Don't sue me Charlaine! I love your books.

The Gamble

A/N- This part is long, dense and complex. Just like they are.

IV.

In typical Eric fashion, the marriage idea that started out as being expedient went through several iterations before it got to something I was open to considering. When he first mentioned it as a _strategy_ I was so offended I almost went home to Bon Temps for the night. The single greatest source of argument in our relationship stemmed from the fact that Eric approached most things from the perspective of whether it was a good or bad strategic risk. Much of Eric's waking time was spent thinking about whether decisions would be profitable or protect his position. We were so very different in that respect. How on earth had he ever gotten to the point that he took all those risks for me?

One thing that really struck me about the whole marriage idea was that Eric never even seemed to consider the thought that I might ever have any life beyond that with him. Really, though, I had to admit that it probably wasn't too far from the truth, thanks to the unique nature of our bond. My experience in the weeks after Christmas had taught me that for better or worse, the absence of Eric from my life would be all but unbearable. But it was very chilling to think that he knew that and just seemingly took it for granted. It wasn't even a question he needed to consider anymore, in his mind. How lost was I, really, inside this man if I was merely an extension of him in some respect? And if I was lost inside him, how would I retain myself, my nature, my values. I struggled with this internally. But it was too late to change course, though I was honest enough with myself to know I probably would not have chosen differently if I'd known the path I'd be walking.

Eventually, I came to realize that "my" Eric, the inner Eric, really actually liked the idea of getting married for more emotional reasons. In his human life, Eric had been married, had had children. I've never asked him whether he really loved his human wife. Who knows. Marriages and alliances occurred for different reasons in those times. But I could sense that Eric really liked the idea of having me bound to him in some formal sense, beyond our blood bond, in a way that better bridged the gap between our two worlds. Tied together in my world, and in his. I also saw that he wanted that tie forged in a situation in which I had a choice, far more choice than I did when we became bound in Rhodes. I'd have to say that more than anything else, I had come to see that, other than the fact that I loved him, what had moved Eric most in our relationship was that I had _chosen_ so many times to protect him, and finally, to be with him. I'd thought a lot about the fact that almost everyone in a vampire's world is bound in a way that provides few opportunities where someone is with you, or does things for you, because of free choice. Even with regular vamp/human relationships, the ability to easily glamour a human, and its residual effects, meant that you didn't necessarily know if that person was really with you of their own volition. Eric truly knew that I was with him because I chose to be. Even when it was hard, or scary, or I was really mad at him or he was mad at me. I could never be glamored and our bond had never become the type that usually was brought about by a blood exchange. Eric couldn't control me, so whatever I brought to the relationship was clearly by my own choice. He reveled in that. It was what had made the sacrifice, and the risk, worth it to him.

We pillow-talked a week before we were scheduled to go to Vegas. Eric thought if we were going to do it, we should do it before we left. He was not too trusting of Felipe and I was frankly often scared that at any time on one of these "jobs" someone could just decide that no thousand year old vampire in his right mind would care much if someone took his human. Eric left it up to me. He asked me to call the Clerk's Office to make the appointment if I was willing to do it. What a proposal, I thought to myself, though I chuckle about it now. Vintage Northman. On the surface, I realized it appeared to be a typical "secure your assets" decision on Eric's part. But during that conversation I had seen enough of what was in his heart and mind to know it meant a lot more to him than just that. Eric could pick apart all my emotions and feelings with a fine-toothed comb. Discussing his own emotional issues, on the other hand, was often just too difficult for him. He'd let me _see_ them, though, that night. What really telegraphed to me was that there was a part of Eric that would do literally _anything_ to keep me safe. That was not a very safe thing for him and it was at complete odds with the rest of his nature, which was pure self-preservationist. What a dichotomy. This was part of an ongoing battle within him that seemed to have raged for more than a year.

There were moments when I thought back to that night when Eric had once told me, after finding out the truth of what had happened when I cared for him while he was cursed, that he had thought of just killing me and never having to think of me again. I now realized that he had often been honest with me in situations where I thought he could not possibly have meant what he was saying. Sometimes I was surprised that, given the way Eric handled his day to day life, I wasn't in the Stackhouse plot next to my parents and Gran. Eric was not at all sadistic. He was not a cruel person. But, for centuries, anything that posed a risk of weakening him was expendable. It had to be that way. Until now. Until me. I was his biggest vulnerability, perhaps in his entire immortal existence, so far as I could see. It amazed me and made me fear _for him_.

There was a large part of me that felt that I had to do my part to ensure that I would never be the vulnerability that brought him down. This was a pragmatic realization on my part. I love him, truly for better or worse, as he is. Eric's instincts for survival had been carefully honed. I didn't want to think about Eric choosing himself over me. I didn't want to think about what that could do to him. The naïve romantic part of me wanted to believe he wouldn't choose at all. The more grownup Sookie, however, thought that living for a thousand years had likely bred too strong a habit to be overcome by something as simple as loving a girl. That was _my_ suspicion, though I knew Eric thought otherwise of himself. What would it do to him if my foolish resistance resulted in his being put into that position and he did choose? I was coming to the conclusion that all of my grand thoughts of freedom, and of standing up to the big vampire, were just selfish if I truly loved him. It could prove fatal. I love him so much, I thought to myself. Maybe I need to learn to just trust his instincts on these things.

After looking tenderly at Eric sleeping in bed for over an hour the following morning, I called the Clerk's office and made the appointment for the following evening. It was a nerve-wracking decision for me. We'd lived together for such a short time. But, with the nature of our bond, and our ability to read each other so well at this point, I supposed it was almost if we had already crammed half a lifetime into a few short months. I couldn't imagine that anyone would ever know me better. And I probably knew more of Eric than anyone ever had, even if it was just a corner of him. In that small corner, I did know for certain that he loved me and I knew how hard it had been for him to come to terms with that. After surviving a thousand years he loved a mortal woman, who was his greatest weakness. The irony.

The only three people who knew were Pam, Claudine and Niall. I had called Claudine the night before and told her what we were doing. I really wanted someone who was family there for me. Claudine was my cousin, even if distantly. She had cared for me and protected as no one else had, other than Eric himself. It had been a job, but she didn't treat me like _I_ was a job. I knew she was genuinely and extremely fond of me. Claudine was rather disapproving of the whole plan but said, since it was what really I wanted, and I was usually so _utterly_ willful, she'd show up for me. If I kept it _very_ brief. She was not at all keen on being in any confined space with Eric and Pam.

___________________________________________

Niall came to visit me in the afternoon, before Eric was awake. I had spoken to him only three times since the events that put me firmly in Eric's life. He had not apologized further (he was a proud Prince, after all) but had made the attempt to be more respectful of my modest human opinions, desires and feelings. As per his instructions, Claudine informed him of anything that might be important going on with me. I thought that Niall turned up because he was concerned that I was getting more and more bound up in Eric's life, and in the vampire world. But his foremost concern was what the actual marriage ceremony might entail. Vampire/human marriages in Louisiana had been legalized with a unique optional component of a blood exchange, similar to that in vampire ceremonial marriages.

After seeing the effect my initial exchange with Eric had had on me when the bond was diminished, Niall was now worried that, if Eric and I made a second more formal blood bond and anything happened to Eric, it would pretty much be the end of me. Our bond was peculiar in its highly emotional nature and my resistance to any of the usual purpose for a blood bond, which was kind of like a super glamour.

I listened to him thoughtfully. And then I laughed at him. I really did.

I don't think Niall quite understood the extent to which Eric and I were already sharing blood. I was too far gone down that path for one more exchange to represent anything more than a mere gesture of reciprocity, as far as I could see. I caught him off guard when I said that I had already seen the preview of what life without Eric was like and I wasn't much interested in a prolonged stay in that state, anyway. He actually winced at that reference to what he'd done in December.

But he had latched onto a concern that had haunted me. What _would_ happen if someone killed Eric, if he died before me. As far as I was concerned, one way or another I'd better be following him shortly thereafter. Could anyone really suppose that I could just go on to some other life? Sam had been so accurate when he'd said he didn't think I knew what I was getting into. I had a broader view now. It was like that big painting by Bosch, where everywhere you look closely something horrible is going on in most of it. Not a pretty world, the vamp world. Even if I could survive without Eric, which was doubtful, I would just be bartered and sold by Felipe or whoever succeeded him. I was too valuable to be "released". There were too few telepaths to set me free. It _was_ a terrifying prospect and I told my grandfather that. He tried to convince me that he would always intervene on my behalf, to keep me safe, so I finally told him the other truth- that I was in so deep with Eric that there was really not going to be much left of me if Eric died for keeps anyway. So why not a second, and more formal, bond? It would mean so much to Eric and in fact, it seemed to guarantee me more of a desirable outcome, should anything happen to Eric. The greater the guarantee on that point that I could get, the safer I was going to feel. It would mean that I would never have to face "being of service" in a world, a vampire world, that I did not want to live in without Eric. If that possibility, that great fear of mine, was removed, I could really _live my life_ instead of ruminating about what could happen to me if something did happen to Eric and I somehow remained behind.

Niall argued strongly with me about the whole thing for some time. He thought I was so young at just shy of twenty-eight, even for a human. But I had seen the lay of the land, as they say. I insisted that it was a gamble that I'd be willing to take. Eric was over a thousand years old. Eric was a safe bet, as far as I was concerned, for surviving almost anything. Of course, I'd had enough of a glance into the self-preservation side of Eric's mind to be quite sure on that account, although I certainly couldn't tell Niall that part of it. Sometimes I'd look at Eric and remember that first flash of his mind I'd seen- like being in a snake pit I'd thought at the time. Not too far off the mark. Of course, I was off in a corner, wrapped warmly and securely in his love. But a snake pit is just… what it is.

After listening to me for some time, Niall was silent and contemplative for many minutes. Then, quietly, he offered me the possibility of a unique gift. It was a gift, ultimately for me, but which had to be given to, and accepted by, Eric. It was a sort of a Fae bond, in contrast to that of a vampire's. It would irrevocably tie my life to Eric's. If he ended, I would die with him. It was "old" magic he said, and seldom conferred in present times. Among the Fae it was given by one to another when they felt truly inseparable. It could not alter Eric in any way (he was already dead, he was not of the Fae), and could not alter my mortal nature. Because of my fairy blood, however, it would literally tie my life to his, as my gift to him, because we were inseparable _in my eyes_. But Eric would have to accept it. And I'd have to trust Niall, in spite of his previous mistake. I looked curiously at my great-grandfather. He said there was great honor in offering such a gift to one's lover. He held my hand in his, tears in his bright eyes. This was the first time I'd ever felt he understood me.

______________________________________

Pam went with us as one of our witnesses. Pam had seemed very taken aback that Eric was actually marrying me. I mean, I know she thought he was extremely attached to me, but sometimes I got the feeling that she really thought our feelings for each other were incomprehensible. And so much fuss for such a short period of time together, since I was mortal!

Claudine popped in, discreetly, and sat in a chair on the other side of the room and I told Pam and Eric before we began that if they so much as looked at her, I'd walk out. Claudine seemed to find the blood bond ritual fascinating and watched it intently as if taking notes. However she had an odd look on her face as she watched us begin to exchange rings. What did she see in the ring I wondered? As I placed Eric's ring on his finger, it glowed brightly as energy seemed to flow from me, into it. Claudine almost rose from her chair as she watched and gave a small but audible gasp. Eric glanced from my eyes to his hand, looking puzzled. He suddenly looked back to my face in some sense of deep understanding and whispered,

"_What_ have you done…?"


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: The Sookie Stackhouse Series is the creation of Charlaine Harris. Don't sue me Charlaine! I love your books.

The Gamble

V.

I looked at Eric and Victor, who now appeared for all intents to be like a lion and a panther, ready to spring on each other again at any moment. No law enforcement to slow them down any more. If I let them work it out, it was not going to be pretty. It was time to realize that I was living in a different world now and I would have to own it.

Sometimes self-preservation requires finesse and these two men just did not seem to be headed for that path on their own. Why do men always want to fight?

I glanced at Hoyt and Jason and then looked at Bill. "_Glamour them_," I said firmly, in a tone that made it clear I was not to be questioned. "Make them forget the whole thing except for the fact I'm married." I felt Eric's puzzlement through our bond.

I looked at Sam. I trusted Sam with all my heart, even if Eric didn't.

"Sam, go outside with them and sit with them, having a beer when Bill's done with them."

As stunned as they already were, Hoyt and Jason were sorted after a minimal struggle and the four of them were out the door to the patio.

I turned to the two powerful men in front of me. I looked Victor straight in the eyes.

"Victor, call Felipe and tell him you haven't had the chance to tell me because you have just discovered that Eric and I are married. Tell him the two of you may have to come up with a different plan. Call him now. While we wait. Then we won't discuss this ever again. Are we in agreement?"

Victor looked at me cautiously. But he hesitated.

"It's either that, or Eric calls Felipe and tells him that, in spite of the fact that _you knew_ we were married, which I told you when I worked with you last month, you have threatened and injured his wife in Felipe's name and that he now believes you may have deliberately concealed the information about our marriage from him. Based on the way you've always looked at me, I think it won't take him long to surmise what led you to exploit his wish to have me in Vegas without the husband he didn't know I had. I can help him connect the dots if I have to. _And who knows what else you could be concealing from him?_ The choice is yours, Victor. But you only have about a minute more to make it."

Eric turned to me and just stared. I tilted my head at a slight angle and smiled an ironic smile at Victor. Victor looked a bit taken aback.

"Of course the third choice is that Eric kills you and we produce witnesses who say you were staked by Sam after attacking me. But that would be a pity. It would ruin a very nice suit."

Victor, with a bit of amazement on his face, took out his cell phone and hit his speed dial. "Option one is just fine by me, Sookie. Easiest by far. I'm sure we'll work something out." Before he pressed send, he glanced at Eric, nodded his head at me and chuckled, "Your wife is a _very_ fascinating person, Eric..."


	5. Chapter 5

Addendum to _The Gamble_

So many people have PM'd me about the fae bond, either loving it, confused by it, wanting more about it. (I wish you guys would all write reviews!) So for those of you who are confused here's the relevant passage, from Sookie's POV, from Niall:

"…a Fae bond, in contrast to that of a vampire's. It would_ irrevocably tie __**my**__ life to Eric's_. If he ended, I would die with him. It was "old" magic he said, and seldom conferred in present times. Among the Fae it was given by one to another when they felt truly inseparable. _**It could not alter Eric in any way**__ (he was already dead, he was not of the Fae_), and could not alter my mortal nature. Because of my fairy blood, however, it would literally tie my life to his, as my gift to him, because _we were inseparable in my eyes…."_

So if it wasn't clear (sorry!) Niall enchanted Eric's wedding ring because it was a gift that Eric would _have to accept_ as part of the marriage ceremony. (This is the beginning of Sookie's becoming a bit more active in the supernatural world- she's being quite sly here…) When Sookie places that ring on Eric's hand, _her life force is the energy that flows into the ring_ making it glow. That's why Claudine reacts as she does. She could see something was odd about the ring from the start, and being a fairy, she instantly knows the meaning of what Sookie has given him (her life). Eric is able to sense there is something odd happening and because (I guess) of the bond, the sensation and the glowing ring. He figures out the essence of what she's done, and is shocked by it. As you'll notice, more than a month later, that ring has still never left his hand. I don't think he'll ever take it off.

A further note…

The inspiration for a situation in which, with two beings of differing mortalities, one will give up their life to die with other is not unfamiliar. For those of you Tolkien readers out there, it is somewhat similar to Arwen pledging herself to Aragorn. Arwen was thousands of years old when she met Aragorn but loves him enough to decide to stay with him, essentially becoming mortal. In the film, though not in the books, Arwen gives Aragorn a jewel, the symbol of the Evenstar, an implicit elven representation of her relatively immortal life being given up for him. That is why Elrond (in the film) is so put out- his daughter was willing to become mortal and stay with Aragorn, a long lived but mortal man, rather than leave for Valinor with the other Elves. In _Return of the King's appendix, The Tale of Arwen and Aragorn_, Arwen stays with Aragorn, marries him, bears him children and then dies within a year after his death, from a broken heart.

Let's just say that I think that Sookie is the one in this relationship more readily capable of making the big sacrifices. Love that Eric, but the man is a vampire, not a Sindarin Elf. ;)


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